In celebration of the fact that I received over 100 pageviews today (and nearly 100 yesterday), I’m announcing a SECOND GIVEAWAY.

It’s been super exciting, watching your comments roll in for my Eclectic Bundle giveaway! As the end of today neared, I wondered if I’d break the mythical number of 100 pageviews (I’m a small blog, okay). And I did!

As a big THANK YOU to everyone, I’m offering up a second prize. My bundle is up for grabs to anybody who comments this week; this giveaway is for FOLLOWERS! All you need to do is FOLLOW me and leave me a comment telling me how you follow (via your WordPress account, by email or an RSS reader, or by Twitter). (I have internet mojo – I will know if you lie. 😉 ) The links for all of those are over in the right sidebar – super easy to find.

Now, for what you really want to know: THE PRIZE IS FABRIC! Some of you mentioned that I ought to have included yarn and embroidery floss (and maybe some paint) in the previous one, and I thought about it, but, well, who doesn’t love fabric.

I had a dig in my (very small) stash and found these four pieces of fabric.
— A red-on-ivory toile – it’s oddly shaped but it’s about the size of a fat quarter, and it’s a very heavy fabric
— An orange-and black tiger print – fat quarter
— A bright pink tiger-y looking print – about half a yard
— and a yard of a bright hippie-ish print (see below for a better shot of it)

Don’t you just love that jaunty little birdie?

Just to clarify – comments on this post are NOT entries in the other giveaway, just to make it easier to determine a winner. To enter this giveaway, follow and comment here. To enter the other, comment on any other post on this blog.
Sorry, but both giveaways are US-only. Maybe next time, Internationals!
This giveaway will close at 6 pm PST on Friday May 25.

Hello Hello! I actually have a good reason for delaying the roundup this week! I wanted to include it in my GIVEAWAY WEEK festivities. (Also I am horribly behind in my readering.) For those of you who missed the memo, I’m participating in a massive giveaway party hosted by Sew Mama Sew. I’m offering a fun and eclectic bundle of crafting supplies, and EVERY COMMENT ALL WEEK counts as an entry. If you happen to not want to be included in the giveaway, just make a note of it in your comment. If you’d like to enter one/some/many/all of the other giveaways (there are hundreds), check out this link here. There are 5 categories, so have fun.

So for the newbies (hi out there!), let me lay down my ground rules for this thing here. I usually do this on the weekends, and my goal is to feature links to all the various things I found on the blogosphere that tickled my fancy that week. None of these links are sponsored or requested in any way – this is just me giving some love to the things I enjoyed. (And it’s NOT exhaustive – I have to cut like 90% of the things that I “star” as I’m readering.)
I share a lot of crafty things and recipes. I share a handful of interesting articles about a variety of topics including current events and science. I share links to fabulous art, and I share a smattering of things that I just thought were great. I get my geek on frequently – I put in a sprinkling of pictures and they tend to be quite geeky.
I’m currently following 413 blogs, holy crap. This giveaway thing is quite unhealthy for my reader, lol. I added probably 100 of those today as I was surfing the giveaways. I expect that number will be, like, 700 by the time I’m done.

Remember you can follow me on Pinterest or on Tumblr for nearly-daily flailing and excitement. Check the right side of the page for a list of all the places you can find me. And if there’s somewhere else you’d like to connect with me, let me know! (I’m not making a facebook page until I know that people are interested.) Now let’s get to the links!

I featured this photo on the last roundup and just couldn’t bear to delete it. Uh oh, I may be stuck in an infinite loop. (via FY Link)

I could watch this ALL DAY. (via Hipster Game of Thrones) (YES, this is another repeat; what is WRONG with me.)

Food

A cake covered with Whoppers. My husband would DIE. (Stars and Sunshine)
A tip for a better PB&J (Lifehacker)Basic Yellow Butter Cake – a great one for my Basic Recipes series (The Kitchn)
A copycat recipe for a Wendy’s frosty. Gotta try this one. (The Kitchn)
10 cheap staples everyone should have in their pantry – oh, great post idea! (The Kitchn)
23 homemade breads. Yes. Bread is one of my faaaavorite things. (The Kitchn)Candied Ginger, two ways (Inn at the Crossroads)
Simple chicken salad with a twist: Basil! (Blogchef)

Articles and News

A time lapse video of the recent annular eclipse. Boo for living on the East Coast – it must have been awesome in person. (Wired Science)
What do you know (or think you know) about the Pacific Garbage Patch? (io9)
This article will generate a 20-minute workout for you. You have 20 minutes, right? Sure you do. (Lifehacker)
Thoughts on couponing – got any suggestions to add? (Get Rich Slowly)
This week, let’s have a history lesson on … bra-burning? (The Mary Sue)

Did you see anything cool around the internet this week? Is there a blog I should be reading? Got an opinion or thought about anything here? Share your own thoughts and links in the comments! Make sure to follow me (here, there, and everywhere) to get more updates!

A couple times a year, Sew Mama Sew hosts a “Giveaway day” party, and I decided to be part of it this year. You can click that link above to find other blogs where you can enter to win fabulous crafty prizes, but first, read on and find out what I’ve got!

For the new visitors, let me introduce myself. Hi, I’m Jamie B. I make a lot of things and I spend way too much time on the internet. I publish a weekly list of cool and awesome things I’ve found around the internet, as well as my own craft and recipe tutorials. This week I’m delaying my internet roundup (I’m planning to post it on Tuesday) and I’d love for you to come check it out. I’ve also got a great recipe in the hopper to share with you, and maybe a few surprise posts as well.

I thought long and hard about this giveaway, and decided to gather up a collection of fabulous supplies for your crafting pleasure!

Here is a quick shot of all the supplies gathered together. I selected them carefully to represent different parts of my own crafting personality. I like to be diverse in my life and my blog, so here’s what may be the most diverse prize you’ve ever won. There’s something from just about every Arena of Crafting that I participate in.

In the photo above you can see a small packet of beads in various colors (I just dove into my box and chose a handful), a package of jump rings (perfect for making 12-in-2 Flowers!), a bottle of black crackle nail polish, 2 packets of cupcake decorations (they are Irish themed), a gorgeous green-and-gold ribbon (it’s quite long), and a nice big piece of fabric in pink-and-brown stripes.

AND this isn’t even all! These lovelies will be accompanied by a SECRET HANDMADE ITEM that I think you’ll love. I already know what it is; it’s sitting right next to me. I just felt like being mysterious. shipped with a HANDMADE velcro-sealed bag. It measures approximately 7×7 and is designed to be used like a sandwich baggie. It’s lined with very thin vinyl and the outside is a pretty brown and ivory floral print. Just wipe it out and reuse. I don’t have any photos of it because I’m lazy.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is leave me a comment! I embrace diversity in my crafting, and I yearn for discussion on my blog. So let’s talk! Tell me what your favorite kind of crafting is! Do you like sewing, or maybe beading? Maille? Knitting? Maybe you’re into fashion arts, or even food! I want to talk about it with you!

For additional entries: come back all week and join in the discussions! I’ll be posting several times this week, and every comment will count as an entry in the giveaway! Tweets, facebook posts, pins, and the like are appreciated but will not count as entries. I will delete all spammy comments or anybody who’s being mean.

This contest is open from Monday May 21 at the time of posting until 5pm PST on Friday May 25 – so enter early and enter often! I will contact the winner by email, so make sure you leave a contact email when you comment. I do screen comments so yours may not show up immediately – just be patient!

Remember to COME BACK (you can subscribe by email or RSS if you’d like) throughout the week to join in the fun and grab more entries! I can also be found on Twitter (I automatically tweet a link to each post), Pinterest, Tumblr, and a couple other places which you’ll find listed in the right sidebar.

I don’t know why exactly, but I’ve just been insanely busy lately. I enjoy most of the things I do, but it seems like I haven’t had any downtime in forever. I haven’t even had spare time for reading! Today I’ve got a collection of pictures to share, of some of my recent projects in progress!

This is a quick shot I took of my to-do list just before I sat down to upload pictures and write this post. The right side is tasks for my home or family – stuff like “clean the fridge” and “mail Mother’s Day cards.” The left side is personal projects or desires, mostly for Etsy or for my blogs. Yes, it’s giant. And it’s mostly not very itemized. It just says “clean,” instead of “clean living room and bathroom and bedroom and kitchen,” for example. Told ya I’m busy.

I’ve been trying new recipes, but I haven’t been photographing them. I’ve got such a backlog of recipes to blog about. So it’s a great time to try new things, so I can improve on them before I blog about them. This is last night’s dinner – Spinach, Ricotta, and Parmesan Stuffed Shells. I based them off a recipe I shared with you a few weeks ago – Spinach-Stuffed Canneloni by Happiness Stan. Delicious, although there are a few things I’m going to do differently next time. I’m really loving recipes that fold the vegetables into the main dish, because we have a tendency to forget to make the veggie until the food is done. Also, I officially love ricotta. It makes such lovely leftovers.

A new project! Care to guess? I shared the inspiration for this with you just a few days ago. It’s rock candy! I loved the jewelry idea from 1 Fine Cookie, but I decided I’d better try out just plain rock candy first. I stirred up some sugar syrup, added in a little of the flavor extracts I had on hand, and some coloring. It’s a pretty simple concept, so I don’t anticipate any problems.

Here’s a quick shot of some earrings I knocked together today. The ones on the left are for Kako. They’re a version of my Corkscrew earrings, with silver-colored copper wire and Sapphire blue freshwater pearls. They turned out a bit longer than I expected. The ones on the right are pearlescent black glass pearls, wrapped with 26-gauge wire. Quite delicate. I like them. Look for them in my shop on June 1st!

Here’s a sneak peek of another commissioned jewelry piece. My friend Ri likes cameos like my Secret Cameo earrings, but doesn’t wear earrings. So I went on the hunt for a necklace for her. I found this classic-looking pendant, and embellished it with 28 green Swarovski elements. It hangs at about the breastbone, from a double-loop of black cable chain. I’m really happy with it.

I’ve also been sewing! This is a prototype of an e-reader cover that I’m hoping to produce for my shop, but it’s giving me fits at the moment. I’m happy with the front side, but the back just isn’t cooperating. I’ve got an idea I’m going to try next time I sit down with it, so hopefully it’ll work out well.

My sewing has been successful on other fronts though. Here’s a shot of a “string backpack” I knocked together from 2 fat quarters. We have a similar one (that we found in a parking lot haha) to carry dog-related items when we take Charlie for a walk. This one is the new home for kid-related stuff when we walk to the park. I really like the two velcro’ed pockets on the front, to stash my keys and wallet. I’m thinking about Etsying these as well. What do you think?

In honor of Matt Smith’s debut as the Eleventh Doctor 2 years ago, April 3 was Fish Custard Day. (Go watch The Eleventh Hour; you’ll understand.) I got brave and tried it. It was actually pretty good!

Here’s a process shot of a set of items that should be appearing in my shop on Listing Day (the first of June). Care to take a guess?

Another process shot, of a very old and long-since-completed project. I had this lovely skirt, but it was longer than I liked, and, um, too small in the waist. So I shortened it by hacking off the top. I’m quite happy with it. I’ve got to get the courage to model it so I can put up a proper post about it.

When I joined Paperback Swap a few weeks ago, I went through my box of “get rid of” books and listed them all. Except a few. Four of the seven Chronicles of Narnia books, in pretty rough shape. I couldn’t list them, but I didn’t want to just throw them away. So I salvaged them. I cut (by hand) hundreds of circles from the pages, and glued them onto a paper lantern I already owned. It turned out AMAZING. I’ve got a ton of scraps, as well as a whole book and a half, left, so I’m thinking about other things to do with the papers. I kept a couple of the chapter illustrations, and am thinking of using my scanner to blow them up and use them as embroidery patterns. The scraps of paper might get blended up into pulp so I can make “fresh” paper – I’ve got a bookmaking project running around my head too.

PONY CUPCAKES. Our FRG had a “cupcake social” this past weekend. (I apologize to my Pinterest followers for the deluge of cupcakes that one day that I was looking for ideas.) I made these little picks from the box art (yes I saved it, why do you ask) from my daughter’s ponies. I am particularly proud of these lovelies. Definitely expect to see a post featuring these babies in better detail soon.

Last photo of the day! This is a shot from wayy back at the beginning of April, the day of the season two premiere of Game of Thrones. I prepared a fabulous Westerosi feast. Somehow, the blog never got written about it. I made a number of amazing recipes that day though, and I plan to share them – especially those lovely Dornish peppers you see on the right in the foreground. Deeeeeelicious. Fresh bread dipped in salt was also a revelation of flavor.

This isn’t even all of the amazingness that I’ve been up to! Here’s just a quick sample of the things I’ve got folders of pictures for: Homemade Butter, Cola Cake, Fried Chicken, Roasted Chicken, Lasagna, Onion Rings, Shield Weaving, and Wheat Bread. I’ve also got some great craft tutorials in the planning stages (it’s harder than you think it is to take process photos of delicate things). Oh, and I got my May Birchbox the other day – that blog will be coming soon.
Don’t forget – next week is Giveaway Week! Be sure to come back early and often for your chances to win free stuff!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this mishmash photoblog. Which project are you most excited to see more of?

Hi there! I missed last week’s roundup because I was ill. Sad, because I actually was completely caught up on reading. I didn’t quite manage to go back all the way to the point I left off at, but this was a good week and we have plenty to be going on with.

A few announcements: Next week I will be participating in Sew Mama Sew’s Giveaway week! So make sure to come back on the 21st to find out how to enter an as-yet-undeclared prize (it’ll be good, I promise).
This week may be a rough one because my to-do list is massive, and next week my husband is having a pretty major surgery. But I promise, I’m going to try to keep things together.

Remember you can follow me on Pinterest or on Tumblr for nearly-daily flailing and excitement. Check the right side of the page for a list of all the places you can find me. And if there’s somewhere else you’d like to connect with me, let me know! (I’m not making a facebook page until I know that people are interested, fyi.) Now let’s get to the links!

Articles and News

Thoughts on IUDs. This is relevant to my life. (io9)
Did you hear about Tanning Mom? It’s very sad. (The Gloss)
The military has been completely destroyed since DADT was repealed. Oh wait, no, the opposite of that. (Jezebel)
Wow, um, I’m going to take up yoga now. (Blisstree)The Mommy Wars MUST END. This is getting toxic. (Eat the Damn Cake)
I really really loved this article about drawing wheelchairs (it’s more applicable than you’d think). (The Mary Sue)North Carolina sucks. The end. (Gawker)

This was taken on the first day of filming for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Omg. (via EpicPonyz)

Weekly Greatness:

Did you see anything cool around the internet this week? Is there a blog I should be reading? Got an opinion or thought about anything here? Share your own thoughts and links in the comments! Make sure to follow me (here, there, and everywhere) to get more updates!